U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Monday issued a stark warning, pledging severe consequences if Hamas does not release the hostages it holds in Gaza before he takes office in January.
"Everybody is talking about the hostages who are being held so violently, inhumanely, and against the will of the entire World, in the Middle East - But it’s all talk, and no action!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if the hostages are not released prior to January 20, 2025, the date that I proudly assume Office as President of the United States, there will be ALL HELL TO PAY in the Middle East, and for those in charge who perpetrated these atrocities against Humanity. Those responsible will be hit harder than anybody has been hit in the long and storied History of the United States of America. RELEASE THE HOSTAGES NOW!"
Trump's statement followed the IDF's confirmation that Captain Omer Neutra, an Israeli-American soldier believed to have been held hostage since the October 7, 2023, terrorist attack, was killed, with his body still held by Hamas.